Anna

23 - Broken Promises

On their final day in the mountains, mounds of luggage filled the living room waiting to be carried to their respective cars for the drive home. Ellie sat alone on a chair in front of the cold, dead fireplace when Chase appeared next to her.

"Can I talk to you, Ellie?"

She glanced up from her book and rested it in her lap. Instead of choosing the seat next to hers, Chase crouched on the floor in front of her.

"What's going on?" Her voice hesitated. Chase ran his fingers through his hair as if he were stalling.

"You know how much you mean to us, right? To me, to Lizzie..."

Despite the laugh she had to suppress, her gut tightened and her fingers fidgeted against the compressed pages of her book. Chase rarely got nervous.

"I just... wanted to let you know that someone reached out to me about doing an interview."

Ellie blinked at Chase and wrinkled her forehead.

"Why do you need another interview with the police? I thought they had everything they needed." A dozen possibilities ran through her mind about why Chase would need to divulge any more information than he already had, none of which ended well for her.

"No, not that kind of interview. Like one on television, with Sasha Steiner."

Ellie pulled away. She wanted to believe she misheard, but she could not hide the betrayal written across her face.

"I know it's a lot, but Lizzie wants to do this; it was her idea."

Ellie swallowed as she searched for the right words to say.

"You can join us," Chase continued. "They said there's a spot for you if you want it. I'll make sure they pay you really well."

She searched Chase's eager eyes, waiting for him to laugh and call the whole ordeal a joke, but he did not budge.

"If it's what Lizzie wants to do... but no. I'm sorry, I can't."

"If you change your mind—"

Ellie pushed herself past Chase, unwilling to hear whatever explanation he had to offer. She hugged her book and stared at the floor. Her feet carried her away until she bumped into an unsuspecting Tessa.

"Watch out, Ellie. Are you ready to go?"

Ellie nodded in quick bursts and curled the corners of her lips into a forced smile.

"Mhm. I'm gonna wait in the car."

"Oh, okay, then..."

Ellie hurried out the door and hid in the back seat, not bothering to say goodbye. She just wanted to get home to her mother.

— — —

The eight-hour drive home with Joe and Tessa began in silence. At least on Ellie's part. Joe's curated road trip playlist hummed through the speakers, filling the space with enough noise to keep the silence from taking an awkward turn.

She watched the snowy mountains pass by. Her forehead rested against the cold window, her hair matted by condensation between the glass and her skin.

She wanted Joe to drive faster. The sooner they got home, the sooner they could find Eleanor again. But it also meant returning to a reality where Chase could potentially reveal secrets to the world that she preferred to keep to herself.

Chase's talk had left Ellie shaken and confused. She understood it was what Lizzie wanted to do, but she could not wrap her head around why they had to drag her into it. There was no possible way for her or Lizzie to tell their sides of the story without involving the other. Their lives were too intertwined.